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Economic Development

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State unemployment rate reached 18-year low last month

The Iowa unemployment rate dropped to 2.6 percent in July, the lowest level in 18 years, Iowa Workforce Development said today. Employment has grown by 13,200 since a year ago, when the unemployment rate was …

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Q&A with YPC’s new president

The Young Professional Connection had a leadership change in recent months, with Ryan Bruner become president and Abby Rodewald now the past president. We wanted to get to know a little about Bruner and what…
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Advice for young Professionals

Five generations of workers make up most offices these days with the youngest — Generation Z, ages 7-21 —  just starting in the workforce.

For those in the millennial and Generation Z generations (and for …

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Site With A History

Several years ago, former Des Moines City Manager Rick Clark was in his office in city hall late in the afternoon, running through a list of development projects that were transforming the city. A Business …

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SBA backs $3M in Central Iowa loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration backed seven Central Iowa loans for a combined $2.96 million in July. The loans were for projects expected to create 21 jobs and retain 54.

That was significantly less than …

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Registration open for more Future Ready Iowa regional summits

Registration for four additional Future Ready Iowa Regional Summits is open. The daylong summits are scheduled for late September and early October in Ames, Centerville, Creston and Sioux City. The events will bring together key …

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Sept. 6: 2018 Mayor’s State of the City Address

Host: City of Urbandale
About: Urbandale Mayor Bob Andeweg will deliver the 2018 State of the City Address at City Hall in the council chambers. All metro residents are encouraged to attend. Andeweg will share …

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Eckert to direct SBA’s Cedar Rapids office

Former West Des Moines economic development official Jo Eckert has been named branch manager of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Cedar Rapids office. Eckert ran the West Des Moines Business Incubator from 2010 to 2017. …

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In Iowa, joblessness dives, wages struggle

Quad-City Times: Even as Iowa’s unemployment rate has nose-dived, the pay that workers in the state are earning on the job has struggled to make gains. It’s a trend across the country. But economists in the …

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Cownie, city of Des Moines lay groundwork for key Market District development site

Businessman Jim Cownie could sell the site of a scrap metal operation on the southern fringe of the East Village in Des Moines to the city if development plans do not work out, according to …